In the vein of “Beware of Dog,” here is some sound advice on the topic of children.
Author: Shelly
Before and After
I’ve mentioned how much I love old buildings, especially houses? Especially when they’re half falling down? In the mid-’80s my family moved (again!), and across the street from the new house was an enormous Queen Anne house that looked like it might disintegrate at any moment. It was the quintessential haunted house, dilapidated with rotted curtains hanging in random windows. The interior had once been broken up into small apartments, but it has sat empty for a good number of years. I was always fascinated by that house, and torn between enjoyment of its decayed aspect and hope that it would one day find an owner who would renovate it.
It was finally bought a few years ago, and the new owners completely rehabbed it. Over the course of a couple of years, they replaced the roof and stripped the remnants of paint from the exterior, including the stripping and/or replacement of about a million pieces of gingerbread. You cannot imagine how excited I was to finally get a tour of the interior! It’s been beautifully restored and decorated inside, with new plaster, new floors, and rich fabrics papering the walls. It’s absolutely gorgeous.
Before
After
Three Paintings
Funnel Cloud, oil on canvas
Vessels, oil on canvas
Maps IV, oil on canvas
These are all paintings that now live at my mom’s house. I’ve been meaning to photograph them for quite awhile, but never managed to get to it. Easter was a perfect opportunity, though. It was overcast, which I think is the best time to take outdoor photos. Bright sunlight may seem nice, but it washes out color and flattens everything. Overcast days enhance the saturation of color, so if you’re going to photograph artwork outdoors (and outdoors is far preferable to indoors, with flash), it’s best to do it outdoors on a cloudy day.
The top one and bottom paintings I’m still pretty happy with. I like the middle one, but it has some spacial issues. I’m thinking about having another go at the idea, just so that I can fix the things that now bug me. We’ll see if I ever get around to it.
The third painting belongs to my youngest brother. It was part of the Maps series. I love the underwatery feel of it. The top painting began as part of the same series, but it ended up going in an entirely different direction. I still wasn’t using much white at that point, which is what accounts for the weird, tornado-y glow in that and a few other paintings, like this one.
Greenhouse, oil on canvas
Efflorescence of a Sunset
Eastern Glow at Sunset, 14 April 2006
I took this last Friday evening. I’d been standing outside, talking with my neighbor across the gate (like ya’ do). I was facing west, and had been lamenting internally that the sunset was non-existant. One minute it was hovering boringly above the horizon, then “plop” it sank. Nary a hint of pink or orange or purple or anything at all. Hrmph.
Then, as she was leaving, I turned to go back inside. Oh my. The entire eastern sky was glowing a soft pink. It was kind of subtle, so I didn’t think it would show up well in a picture. I intended to just hang out and enjoy it while it lasted, but then Harriet decided it was time to eat rightthisninute. I took her inside to feed her, then went back outside to do some more sky watching. In the few moments I was indoors, the pink had deepened and intensified. I got my camera and took a few pictures.
Easter Puppy
Harriet and I visited my family over Easter. To be truthful, I’d forgotten it was Easter weekend. My main purpose in visiting was to pick up an oak table. It was one my mom grew up with, then my brothers and I, so when it looked like it might be my turn to snag it, I jumped at the chance. The finish needs some work, but it’s a really nice size and has a lot of sentimental value.
Anyway, while we were moving the table out to the car, I shut Harriet in the downstairs bedroom. She’s good about honoring open doors and gates, but with all the chaos, I wanted to be on the safe side. One of the cold air exchanges for the furnace is in that room, so there is a cut out on the bottom of the door, to allow for air circulation. Harriet took advantage of the opening to keep an eye on the to-ing and fro-ing. I think she was hoping she could stuff her whole head and body through the gap, but she hasn’t perfected the art of bending space. Yet.
The Grammar Police Never Sleep
Paging Wilford Brimley. Would Mr. Brimley please come to the white courtesy phone?
Don’t let on, but I’d like to smack him upside the head. I’ve mentioned before that I’m disturbed–on a near daily basis–by his mangling of the English language. I’ve recently discovered that he has a little friend. I don’t recall what product it’s for, but there’s a commercial on heavy rotation right now for a medication for some sort of “respitory” ailment. That’s right folks. I thought it had five syllables, too, so I’m just as shocked as y’all are. And, amazingly, if you go a-Googling for “respitory,” you get 174,000 hits. It is for to weep.
Say What…?
Doesn’t anyone proofread copy for teevee commercials? I mean, if you’re going to spend eleventy bajallion dollars on advertising, the end product ought not make you look like an ignorant pantsload, right? So why is Ford bragging that one of its cars will allow you to make “less stops at the pump”? I swear, I want to pierce my eardrums every time that commercial airs.
And now, a red bird for a spring day. I took this at my mom’s house. While I was outside, photographing paintings, two cardinals were dancing and displaying at each other, so I tried to get some shots of them. They didn’t turn out very well, but I was able to play around with this one in Photoshop and salvage it to some extent. I upped the contrast, decreased the saturation, increased the red and yellow channels, and added some noise.
The house in the background is due to be torn down. There was a fire in it over 20 years ago, and the owners did a crapy-assed job of renovating it. They were able to rent it out a few times over the years, but it’s sat empty more often than not. Now, if it’s not torn down, inertia will likely take care of the problem.
And Now the Crankypantsing
On what planet is it acceptable to lecture people while extending an invitation to them? And to do so while invoking the sainted Miss Manners? Thanks, but no fucking thanks.
The mind wobbles.
Happy Birthday, Harriet!
I’ve never been good at letting sleeping dogs lie. I’m more apt to poke them, just because I can. Make of that what you will.
In the literal sense, this is why Boxers are one of my very favoritest breeds. They just do not care. If there’s nothing better to do, they’ll sleep, but as soon as it looks like there might be something more interesting on offer (poke, poke), they’re ready to go-go-go.
Right now, Harriet is crashed out behind my computer chair, napping away and generally being lazy. Tomorrow is her 7th birthday, which is not an old age for a dog. Boxers never grow up, but they don’t generally have a long life-span, so it’s a little sad to think that she’s getting on in age. She’s been greying around the muzzle for quite awhile now, and yesterday I noticed that her front legs are starting to turn grey, too. She’s also developed white patches inside her ears
So happy birthday a day early, because I’m likely to forget tomorrow, what with my swiss cheese brain and all.
It’s a good, good (Fri)day
I just saw two swallowtail butterflies flitting about in my yard. Spring has definitely arrived. Summer, too, perhaps. It’s supposed to be around 85F today. O ick. And it’s supposed to storm this afternoon, so I thought I’d update and upload while I can.
First, some spring photos.
The first three were taken this morning. It stormed at about 4am, but the morning was absolutely gorgeous. The horse in the first photo had just calmed down. He’d been running around and rolling in the grass, full of joie de spring, which was super cute, but not so photogenic in a distance shot.
Next, Teh Cute and Teh Silly:
What can I say? Boxers are unbelievably weird. They do a silly kidney bean dance, wherein they whip their bodies in half, bending back and forth, accompanied by hilariously funny nubbin wagging. It’s ludicrously cute, but not easy to photograph. I tried to get video of it, but no dice. In the second photo she’s just plain lost it. Boxers are notoriously sassy. They love to talk back. This is Harriet woo-wooing at me. My timing was not good, because I was laughing, so I missed the part where she scrunches up her floppy lips and purses them in a perfect O. You can see a little bit of the lip action, but it’s not as impressive as it could be.
And now, the art. Three of them contain Polaroids I’ve altered using sandpaper and/or bleach.
Diptych: Faun
Diptych: Alba
5 1/2 x 5 1/2
collage (altered Polaroid photo, brass beads, unbleached waxed paper, pieces of burnt paper, and fragment from 1854 patent book) and acrylic paint on 90lb Stonehenge paper
Reissue and Extension
5 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches
collage (stone beads, braided hemp twine, copper wire, and fragment from 1854 patent book) and drawing (Sarasa gel ink and dandelion pulp) on 90lb Stonehenge paper
The paper was stained beforehand with instant coffee. I made the flower by pounding a dandelion into the paper, then drawing around it using a Sarasa retractable gel pen and water brush. The ink in these pens is dye based. It doesn’t skip and it bleeds when wet.
The Bone of a Thought
5 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches
collage (altered Polaroid photo, bone fragment, brass brads, unbleached waxed paper, and fragment from 1854 patent book) and acrylic paint on 90lb Stonehenge paper
